The collagenolytic activity of tumor cells with graded degrees of malignancy will be examined, with the aim of correlating the degree of invasiveness with enzymatic activity. We plan to isolate and characterize the collagenase found in tumor cells and to elucidate the role of this enzyme in tumor invasiveness in graded degrees of malignancy. We want to determine whether a precursor exists of tumor collagenase and what the relationship of the activation of this postulated precursor has with the degree of malignancy found. The biological balance of a postulated zymogen of collagenase, its activator and resulting enzyme and its relationship to the onset of malignancy will be ascertained.